Recent developments in sanctions - are you exposed?

It was a pleasure to attend the In-House Counsel Congress in Seoul this week and present a Practice Area Workshop on recent developments in sanctions.

With a host of new trade and diplomatic sanctions announced in recent weeks, and an increase in financial penalties and monthly designations by the United States, there was a lot of interest in this topic from General Counsel at multinational corporations.

Participants were particularly interested in the details of the sanctions re-imposed on Iran by the US and the potential effect of secondary sanctions on companies involved in finance and transshipment. Korean companies with links to both the US and the EU are also concerned about how to manage their sanctions obligations under US law against with their legal obligations under the EU Blocking Statute. We also discussed new sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, Turkey and Myanmar.

Given the risks of significant financial penalties and other commercial consequences for breaching sanctions there was also a lot of discussion about how to develop an effective sanctions policy. Key themes that emerged were the need for compliance teams to have authority, continual monitoring and a crisis management strategy.

With a dedicated sanctions team across the world, Clyde & Co can also assist companies to assess risks arising in particular circumstances whether sanctions are imposed by the UN Security Council, the US, the EU or Australia. You can also find all the latest sanctions developments on our website: http://www.clydeco.com/blog/sanctions

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In August alone, America has slapped penalties on Russian shipping firms accused of trading oil with North Korea; imposed restrictions on the arms trade in connection with the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury; and begun congressional hearings on two new pieces of legislation designed to punish Russia for its interference in elections.